Garden Landscaping Ideas

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Tolerant Blooms

Drought-tolerant flowers, like these black-eyed Susans, are a perfect addition to any backyard garden. They hold their bloom at different times throughout the summer and into fall for a great blast of color in your garden. They also tolerate dry weather and are a perfect plant to consider if you travel a lot and may not be home to water them.

Cool Climbers

Climbing plants add a burst of color and height to any garden. Twiners, like American wisteria, work well on large pergolas or trellises, twining their way up the structure. Plants like the Boston ivy have stem tendrils with adhesive pads which allow them to stick to any surface. Once mature, be sure to monitor your vines as to not damage the structure due to their weight.

Rock Gardening

When incorporating stones in your garden, be sure to place the hardscape first, then the softscape. Planting the greenery and flowers around the rocks allows for a more natural look and protects the plants when building the landscape.

Hearty Hydrangeas

A gorgeous spring-to-fall perennial, hydrangeas can grow from 3 to over 10 feet tall. Grow larger blooms by thinning out some of the stems to the ground. After the plant is at least 5 years old, remove one third of the oldest stems to revitalize the plant.

Protect Your Maples

Japanese maples can be prone to slugs and snails feeding on their leaves. They are hard to detect since they eat at night and hide during the day. Control the pests by setting an aluminum pie pan full of beer at the floor of your garden.

Sturdy Stalks

Bamboo stalks complement this contemporary backyard landscape. When planting bamboo in your garden, prepare the site by checking for adequate water drainage in the planting hole. Also, if transporting from a container, soak the root ball for several hours to prevent it from drying out.

Be a Palm Reader

When selecting a palm tree species for your garden, keep four factors in mind. The size of the tree at maturity must fit within your landscaping plan. The temperature of your location is crucial, since frost is not an option for palms. Certain species require shade versus full sun, so sunlight is a factor. Finally, an adequate supply of water must be considered.

Powerful Petunias

Petunias are one of the easiest annuals to grow in a garden. For healthy, fuller blooms, cut back the flowers by one third to one half their size come midsummer. They will look bare for a couple weeks but you'll be rewarded with a lush petunia garden for the remainder of the season.

Top Edger

'Big Blue' liriope is a tufted perennial groundcover which is virtually maintenance free. Ideal for edging or borders in your garden bed, the liriope is considered one tough plant. It can grow in full sun or complete shade and tolerates the heat and drought. Enjoy the blue flower spikes in the summer and black berry stems a few months later.